


Game of Love and Chance

by EchoSiriusRumme



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (but not really bc Tony is a Fool), Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Clint Barton, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Based off French Opera, Fluff, Identity Porn, M/M, Omega Tony Stark, lord tony, prince bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 19:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14817171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoSiriusRumme/pseuds/EchoSiriusRumme
Summary: After sharing his worries about the man he's supposed to marry, Tony's guard Clint comes up with aningeniousplan to switch places with him, so that he could observe this James fellow from the background.  The Prince's own servant, Steve, arrives first, claiming the Prince is running late, and the two get to talking in the meantime.  When Tony and this tall, dark and handsome man hit it off instantly, Tony may or may not be reconsidering this whole arranged marriage deal.





	Game of Love and Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plirio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plirio/gifts).



> I was lucky enough to participate in the WISF again, and I've really enjoyed writing this fic for the lovely plirio! I had actually started doing something for your prompts "Super famous Tony Stark dates Bucky Barnes" and "adopting problem children", but then I saw a one-act opera adaption of "Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard" and _had_ to try a Winteriron version.
> 
> I still want to finish the other, but it'll have to wait until the summer (as are a lot of my fics, due to uni work). Anyways, this is for the "Arranged Marriage" prompt, and I hope you enjoy! ^-^

“Lord Omega Stark, Alpha Prince Barnes will be arriving in an hour, and you are not even close to presentable yet.”

“...why are you talking like that?” Tony asked, pulling the blanket from over his head to peer at his friend, servant, and Guard, Clint Barton. His first title had been gentleman of the Bedchamber, but after the first half dozen jokes made by the man, Tony had refused to refer to him as such anymore. The jokes continued anyways, but over time it became more of an inside joke rather than true annoyance from Tony, and their relationship only grew from there.

Clint stood at the end of Tony’s bed, arms crossed in front of his chest. He grinned down at Tony, before continuing with that pompous air, “Why, because we are to meet respectable people today.”

Tony snorted, pulling the blanket back over his head and closing his eyes again. He gave a high yelp when it was suddenly yanked off of him, a cool wind from the movement making him shiver. “Goddamn Alpha!” He snarled, pulling his pillow over his head and curling up into a ball in an attempt to stave off what he knew was coming.

He shouldn’t have even tried. Tensing at the first touch on his ankle, Tony could no more fight Clint’s pull than he could hold back his Heats every month. Letting out another yelp as he was dragged down the bed, Tony attempted to kick out of Clint’s hold. The older man only grabbed his other leg, using the leverage to toss him off of the bed.

Tony groaned, thankful for the rugs under and around his bed to cushion his falls every other morning. Swiping half-heartedly at Clint’s legs as the man went to get Tony his clothes, Tony took another moment to pout. Would it be easier to just get out of bed when he needed? Yes. Would he continue to act like a child and try to stay in bed anyways? Also yes.

Heaving himself upwards finally, he sneered at Clint as they passed each other going in and out of the bath-chamber. Clint only grinned back, the asshole, swatting at Tony’s butt when he paused to stick his tongue out at the guard. With another withering glare at his friend for the inappropriate action, Tony slammed the door in his face.

He bathed quickly, calling Clint back in when he was dry and in his undergarments and pants. The other man had calmed a bit in the meanwhile, and actually helped Tony into his shirt and jacket without the usual teasing.

Unable to handle the stifling silence, Tony asked, “Do you know anything about this Prince James that I’m supposed to marry?”

Fastening the last button on Tony’s jacket, Clint walked around to stand behind Tony. As he adjusted the shoulders, flattening wrinkles, he said, “Well, he is the best soldier our army has, and has led them to more than a dozen victories. He is the eldest of four at 26 years old, two years your senior, is the only son of King and Queen Barnes, is said to be _devilishly_ handsome and charming, he-”

“No no no, that’s not what I meant,” Tony said, waving away Clint’s hands and walking out of the bath-chamber.“I don’t want statistics or gossip, what about what he _likes_? What are his favorite foods, or hobbies? Is he a family man - does he want his own big family, since he has 3 siblings? What about with his friends, what does he do for fun? That...kind of stuff,” he finished lamely, noticing how Clint was grinning at him.

“Why Anthony, I didn’t know you were such a romantic Omega!” Clint exclaimed, pretending to swoon onto the sofa.

Tony huffed, striding over to the sofa and sitting down heavily onto the Alpha’s stomach. The man groaned in surprise, his eyes flying open and hands going to Tony’s waist to try and knock him off. Tony stayed on as long as he could, before finally taking mercy on him and sliding down to sit on the floor.

Bringing his knees up to lean his chin on, Tony shrugged, mumbling, “I just, was hoping I’d at least get to know the Alpha I’d marry _before_ the wedding. You know?” He asked, tilting his head backwards to meet Clint’s eyes.

Clint nodded solemnly, settling back down into the cushions and staring up at the ceiling. Tony rested his cheek on his knees, attempting to think about something _other_ than meeting the Prince soon, and failing miserably.

Tony startled badly when Clint shouted, “I’ve got it!” The blond tumbled down to sit next to Tony, grabbing him by the shoulders in his excitement. “Why don’t we switch places?” Ignoring Tony’s bewildered expression, he pressed on, “They don’t know what you look like, so if we dress you down and me up, they wouldn’t know the difference!”

Against his better judgment, Clint’s excitement was getting to him, and, thinking quickly, Tony added, “That way, I can observe him, and if he acts like a total brute, I’ll tell my parents right away!”

Clint grinned at him. “Let’s do this.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

Tony was a bundle of nerves by the time they heard trumpets outside relaying the arrival of the Prince. His knuckles were white around the cleaning cloth that he was holding in his hands, and he barely managed to loosen his grip enough to drop it into the apron’s front pocket. Fiddling with the apron tied neatly around his waist, he let out a little hysterical giggle at Clint’s reaction to his getup.

_“I’m more of your guard than servant, you know....”_

_“Take this from me and you lose a hand, Clinton.”_

“Keep it together Stark,” Clint whispered from where he stood at Tony’s side.

“Shush!” Tony quickly stood back up at attention when the door to the mansion opened, heart beating harder within his chest. Somehow this was even more nerve-wracking then if he was meeting the Prince as _himself_!

The doors finally opened enough to let in - Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, holy _shit_. A shining example of Pure Alpha Beef™, his long, brown hair was done up in a neat bun, and a rugged beard covered the bottom half of his face, and _oh_ , Tony wanted to know how that felt like if they were to kiss.

The man’s grey eyes were stunning against the navy blue of his tunic, and - wait, those adornments didn’t seem quite right for a Prince. Reassessing the situation, Tony’s mouth nearly dropped open when he realized the specimen in front of him was ‘only’ a Knight. _How would the Prince look then?_

Clearing his throat, the man said, “I apologize for the delay, but the Prince is still in a meeting and will be with us as soon as possible. He sent me ahead with his apologies to you, Lord Stark, but that he is eager to meet you.”

Tony almost nodded in response, catching himself just in time as Clint answered in his stead, “There is no need for an apology, I’m sure the Prince is extremely busy. That he’s taking the time to meet us is much appreciated.”

Once again Tony had to catch his jaw from dropping. It wasn’t that he thought Clint was a buffoon - the Alpha had actually taught Tony much of what he knew now, and was a respected member of their court. But when his usual manners included dropping a meat pie on the ground, looking around to see if anyone had seen, then scooping the mess back onto his plate and _finishing it_ , Tony felt his surprise could be excused.

He felt a jab in his side, and quickly jolted out of his thoughts. Looking up at Clint, he realized the man had been trying to get his attention for a while. Coughing nervously, Tony asked, “Yes, my Lord?”

“You are to stay here and keep Sir Steven company, and alert me when the Prince has arrived.” With that, Clint sashayed out of the room, which Tony was going to reprimand him for afterwards, knowing it was an imitation of how he walked. _‘Except I_ don’t _, that asshole.’_

Turning back to the knight, Tony was surprised to see the man staring at him intently. Tilting his head slightly, confusion running through him, Tony watched as a small grin worked its way across the man’s face. _‘God, he’s beautiful,’_ Tony couldn’t help but think.

Blinking, he realized they had just been staring at each other, and quickly turned away, flustered. Walking towards the dining table, Tony called out, “Can I get you something to drink, Sir Knight?”

“Water would be nice. And just Steve is fine, doll,” came the response, and Tony bit back his grin at the man’s rough drawl.

Pouring a glass from the prepared pitcher, Tony teased, “And are you Just, Steven?” Turning back to the man, he walked over to where the Alpha had sat down, placing the water down on the table in front of him. “Do you protect your Prince and country with a fair and noble heart?”

The brunet winked at him, saying, “I’d like to think so.”

Tony arched an eyebrow, giving a soft _‘hmm’_ in response, pulling his cloth out of the apron’s pocket and slowly wiping down the tables and decorations around the room, for something to do. He could feel the Alpha’s eyes on him, but for once didn’t feel like he needed to take a bath right afterwards. It was refreshing.

“So you are Lord Stark’s Guard, are you?”

“Among other things, yes,” Tony replied, glancing over at the man to try and guess what he was playing at.

“I would have thought that as his protector, you’d have to be ta—” Tony narrowed his eyes at the man, whose grin only grew before he amended smoothly, “more muscular.”

He glared at the knight a moment longer, then scoffed, “Well maybe I prefer to use my brains, rather than flailing my fists around. I’ll have you know that I’ve managed to stop _and_ win fights without getting a scratch on me _or_ Cl-Lord Stark.” Biting back a wince at his near slip-up, Tony’s annoyance only grew when the Alpha smirked at him.

Then he stood up suddenly, making his eyes comically wide as he exclaimed, “ _Well_ , you certainly put the rest of us Alphas to shame with your genius! I never would have thought to use anything other than my brawns to defend my Prince! It’s a miracle he’s still alive when all I’ve got are these!” He said, flexing his rather impressive arms, the cloth of his jacket noticeably straining from the pressure.

Tony rolled his eyes at the man’s theatrics, attempting to disguise the thrill that had gone through him at his show of strength. Not that Tony was some wilting flower, as Clint and the other guards made sure of in their training, but Alphas had an unfair advantage just _because_ they were Alphas.

Tony sniffed haughtily, “It truly _is_ a miracle, if you think your fists are your best weapons.” The knight just shot him a crooked grin, sending another thrill through his body. He turned back to the dining table, fiddling and rearranging the glasses and dishes in an attempt to hide his reaction.

“Now, Master _Stark_ ,” and Tony jolted in shock, both at hearing his true name and how close the man’s voice sounded all of a sudden. “Shall we stop this charade?”

Tony spun around, jumping again at seeing the brunet only a few steps away from him. _‘Charade?’_ Tony thought, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. _‘But how did he—?’_

The other man seemed to see his confusion, saying with a grin, “I don’t know about you, but I have never met such a _sweet_ smelling Alpha before.”

_‘Sweet...oh for the love of!’_ Out of all the rookie mistakes, Tony had forgotten to take something to suppress his Omega Scent. That meant that this Alpha had known the truth from the start — that explained the staring and that _grin_ — and had just been playing around with him this _whole time_. Probably thinking about what a stupid Omega he was, trying to trick his Prince like this, flirting with his knight like they had been.

Tony froze, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had dumped on him. But was it truly flirting, or was it all part of the _charade_ that the other man had mentioned? Oh _gods_ , and now he was going to _tell_ the Prince, and anyone else who would listen, that Tony was an Omega who just threw himself at any Alpha he meets.

His parents would be so disappointed, he’d screwed this up monumentally, he shouldn’t have tried to play this trick, how could he _forget_ about his traitorous _Scent_ — 

Tony’s thoughts derailed at the soft touch to the back of his neck, whipping his head up to see the man looking down at him in concern. Coming back to himself, he realized he was shaking, cheeks flushing when he realized that he had been giving off distressed Omega pheromones and stinking up the place even _more_.

His embarrassment only grew when he realized that the Alpha was holding him close, arm around his waist, other hand gently massaging the back of his neck in the textbook way to soothe an anxious Omega. He hated that it was working, but allowed himself a moment to lean into the touch to get ahold of himself.

“You back with me?” The knight asked, worry tinged in every word. Tony nodded slowly, trying to keep eye contact but finding the attention too much at that moment. Looking away, he blinked rapidly to try and relieve his burning eyes. “Hey, it’s alright. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He gave a rueful grin, before continuing, “Guess it’s safe to say you don’t know I’m the Prince either, huh?”

Tony’s mind stopped short, leaving him to stare up at the- _the Prince_ , before it rebooted enough for him to let out an embarrassed whine and try to get out of the Alpha’s hold. The other man held steady though, so Tony eventually resigned himself to his fate, but kept his eyes down at the floor.

Steve — no, _James, oh god_ — hooked a finger under Tony’s chin. Face still flaming, Tony allowed himself a moment of resistance, but when James kept the pressure gentle, let the Alpha lift his head up. Looking up into those gorgeous, grey eyes, Tony swallowed thickly, incredibly aware of their differences in height, in sheer _mass_ , up against James’s wide chest, his muscular arm firm yet gentle around his waist.

But the smile that James gave him when their eyes met just about made his heart stop. So soft, and warm, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly as he returned Tony’s gaze. Moving the hand from under his chin, James cupped Tony’s cheek, the warmth making Tony tilt his head into his palm.

Rubbing Tony’s cheek slowly with his thumb, James said softly, “Now that we’re all on the same page, I’d really like to get to know you more. If it makes you feel better, we can have either or both of our guards as chaperones at first, but I’d like to take you out, show you around. What do you say?”

Throat suddenly dry, Tony swallowed again, before croaking out, “I’d love that.”

Cheers from behind Tony startled him, making him jump and cling tighter to James’s jacket. Whirling his head around, he saw Clint and another blond Alpha, who he presumed was the _real_ Sir Steve, standing just outside the doorway, both cheering and hooting like idiots.

Groaning, Tony turned back to James and rested his head against his chest, James immediately holding him close again. “Goddamn Alphas,” he complained good-naturedly, unable to fight the smile that crossed his lips at James’s laugh in response.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a blast to write, and I wish there was a recording to the opera that I saw, so that I could link it, but I hope this fic was enjoyable enough by itself! Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading darlings! <3


End file.
